LOC20:44
17:44 GMT
By Mohammad Al-Ghazzi
BAGHDAD, Nov 3 (KUNA) -- Speaker of Parliament of northern Iraq
semi-autonomous of Kurdistan Adnan Al-Mufti said Saturday Iraqi Shiite leader
Ayatollah Ali Sistani favored the peaceful option to the military one in
solving the Turkish-PKK standoff.
Al-Mufti made the remarks after visiting Al-Sistani in Al-Najaf city. He
was accompanied by deputy speakers of Iraqi parliament Khaled Al-Attiyah and
Aref Tifur.
The three lawmakers arrived in Al-Najaf Saturday morning to discuss the
crisis in northern Iraq with the Shiite leader.
"The visit aimed to show our appreciation for the efforts of Grand
Ayatollah in maintaining the unity of Iraqi people and the development of the
political process," Al-Mufti pointed out.
"We asserted to Al-Sistani the readiness of Kurdistan government to play
its role in warding off the imminent Turkish military operation against
northern Iraq.
"The Shiite leader asserted the importance of putting the peaceful solution
to the crisis first," according to the Kurd leader.
"Resort to military action will only complicate the crisis in northern Iraq,
" Al-Mufti quoted Al-Sistani as saying during the meeting.
"The meeting probed also the role of the Iraqi parliament including all
political forces in solving the Turkish-PKK standoff," he added.
The foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbors started Saturday in Istanbul,
Turkey, an expanded meeting involving U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
to discuss the progress of the political process in Iraq as well as the
military escalation between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
rebels. (end)
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KUNA 032044 Nov 07NNNN